Man sentenced to nearly 6 years for shooting brother

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A Woodburn man has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for shooting his brother outside of their parents home earlier this year.

Eric Gonzalez-Hernandez was initially charged with second-degree attempted murder but on Monday pleaded guilty to lesser charges of second-degree assault and unlawful use of a firearm, The Statesman Journal reported. A second unlawful use of a firearm charge was also dropped.

Gonzalez-Hernandez was arrested Aug. 9 after Woodburn police officers responded to a report of shots fired around 10 p.m.

Officers found the wounded victim who was flown to a hospital. According to a probable cause statement, Woodburn police officers interviewed the mother of the men who said Eric Gonzalez-Hernandez had been acting “strange” during the day and that she heard the brothers speaking loudly on the front porch before she saw Gonzalez-Hernandez shoot his brother. The father of the two men told officers the sound of the gunshot woke him up and he and saw the victim on the floor.

Gonzalez-Hernandez later told officers he “blacked out for a little." He also told police he had been drinking and used methamphetamine that day. He said he took a gun to confront his brother about having done something he didn’t remember. He also admitted to pointing the gun at his father.